


the science of progress

by bouenkyou



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Enemies to Friends, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Near Future, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 19:10:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7586452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bouenkyou/pseuds/bouenkyou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsukishima and Kageyama are going through special training for Tsukishima to become a wing spiker, but there are many difficulties on the road to success, starting with each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the science of progress

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Londonatheart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Londonatheart/gifts).



> This gift might come as a surprise, as it's not very close to what you requested, but I thought it would be easier to fill the blank slate request. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, and if you don't, I sincerely apologize ;; This idea just snuck up on me and I had to run with it! 
> 
> Huge thanks to Tari for betaing and discussing this fic with me day and night. You're a sunshine!

**prog·ress**

_noun_

/ˈpräɡres/

 **1.** the process of improving or developing something over a period of time.

 

A group of girls stand in front of the gym doors, excitedly staring at the current volleyball practice. Most of the team is on one side of the gym, using one of the courts to train the first years. Kageyama and Tsukishima are occupying the other court with special training. The girls’ attention is focused mostly on Tsukishima and they call his name and cheer for him every so often—every time Tsukishima jumps, they gasp breathlessly, but these gasps are followed by little ‘aw’s when his fingers miss the ball by mere millimeters.

Yachi sighs heavily and quietly shushes them, telling them it might affect the boys’ concentration. They nod, but stay around, conversing quietly. Yachi goes back to her task of writing notes about the first years, but she’s standing near the group of girls and the murmurs are a constant rumble that chips at her concentration. She can’t keep track of the team’s performance very well like this, so she gives up, putting the notebook down. Ennoshita stands next to her, staring at her sympathetically.

“It’s a little noisy, isn’t it?” he says mildly and she nods at him, trying to smile, but it comes off more like a pained grimace. Kageyama’s voice pulls their attention back into the court.

“Move faster!” he demands. Tsukishima doesn’t respond, but moves to receive his toss. Both Yachi and Ennoshita see them go through the motions of tossing and spiking—practically the same training Hinata and Kageyama went through only a year earlier—but the ball stops in the highest point of the net before Tsukishima can hit it and it falls down in front of him.

It’s about the hundredth time they’ve tried this quick attack, but Tsukishima hasn’t even hit one.

“What’s wrong with you?” Kageyama hisses, approaching Tsukishima. “You were perfectly capable of hitting that one.”

In turn, Tsukishima fixes Kageyama with his most disdainful look.

“I told you, I’m not trained like a certain idiot to match your tempo. I won’t close my eyes either, no matter what you say,” he turns around and whispers, “your majesty.”

Kageyama frowns deeply, and a vein throbs in his forehead.

“I told you to not call me that,” he grinds between his teeth and Tsukishima waves at him dismissively before walking away and disappearing into the gym’s changing room.

“Oh no, be right back.” Ennoshita follows Tsukishima in quick steps. Yachi hears disappointed mumbles from the doors as most of the girls walk away. The other members of the team have stopped their practice and Hinata approaches the court where Kageyama is standing.

“Don’t let it get to you,” Hinata says as he pats Kageyama’s shoulder. “Hey, toss to me!”

Kageyama nods and there’s a small smile playing on his lips when he picks up the ball and prepares to toss to Hinata—then there’s the sound of the ball hitting the floor and Hinata and Kageyama cheering for a successful attack.

Yachi contemplates the scene and wonders if perhaps Kageyama feels better already. Nishinoya, Tanaka and Yamaguchi resume practice with the first years, and it’s almost like the previous scene didn’t happen, but there’s still some lingering tension in the air, especially because Ennoshita and Tsukishima haven’t come back.

Yachi just resumes writing down her notes about everyone’s performance and hopes Ennoshita is doing his best with damage control.

Inside the changing room, Tsukishima has started picking up his belongings when Ennoshita walks in.

“Are you leaving?” Ennoshita asks lightly as he casually leans, arm-crossed, onto the entrance frame.

“For the day,” Tsukishima starts and stares at Ennoshita, eyes seeking for his approval. “Please, captain.”

“I didn’t come here to stop you.” Ennoshita walks towards him, smiling softly. “I know what it’s like to need a break.”

Tsukishima nods and starts changing into his school uniform.

“Just don’t be too hard on Kageyama, please,” Ennoshita requests, softly. “Remember that you becoming a wing spiker was my idea.”

“It’s just that he’s asking me to do the impossible!”

Ennoshita presses his lips into a thin line, but his eyes are gentle and sympathetic.

“I’m sure he has good intentions. I understand you aren’t friends, and I’m not asking you to be, but you’re a great asset to this team, and Kageyama has good senses. If he thinks you have better potential, why not trust him?”

Tsukishima sighs and nods, giving in.

“You can leave for the day, but tomorrow I want you to stick with the same training. Coach Ukai also believes you have talent for this, so don’t slack off, ok?” Ennoshita grins at him, clapping his left shoulder.

“Yes, captain.” Tsukishima grabs his bag and leaves, nodding his head on the way out.

As Ennoshita ordered, Tsukishima stands on the same court the following day, Kageyama constantly tossing to him. Kageyama’s eyebrows are drawn in concentration, and even though his frown gets deeper every time Tsukishima misses the ball, he doesn’t comment or even react. Tsukishima also doesn’t say anything; no stinging or biting remarks. Yachi stares at them, biting her lower lip—seeing no reaction from them is even more worrying than having them yelling at each other.

Kageyama ponders if perhaps he’s going the wrong way about this whole thing—since the beginning of the training, he’s tried to aim to Tsukishima’s hand, like he did with Hinata, but somehow Tsukishima is always off mark. He decides to change the course on a whim, wondering if it would make any change, and the ball bounces off Tsukishima’s palm, smacking the floor loudly. Tsukishima whips his head around, glaring at Kageyama, but the rest of the team stops whatever they’re doing to celebrate the small progress made.

“You do have it in you to hit it!” Tanaka boasts, pulling Tsukishima into a headlock. Tsukishima gives Kageyama his most hateful look. When they continue, Tsukishima seems more focused and careful, but still doesn’t hit it even when Kageyama tries to change the angle of the toss.

When practice finishes, Tsukishima is the first to leave, and Kageyama walks towards Ennoshita and Yachi.

“I didn’t expect it to be this difficult,” he murmurs.

“You have to be patient, Kageyama. Like he said, not everyone has the same talents; you can’t expect him to be Hinata.” Ennoshita tries to sound as gentle as possible, but Kageyama still frowns.

“That’s not it,” Kageyama says thoughtfully, “I’ve tried tossing directly to his hand and he still misses on purpose.”

Ennoshita and Yachi look at him and then at each other.

“Really?!” they both say in unison. “But he hit it today,” Ennoshita adds.

“That’s how I confirmed it,” Kageyama sighs, staring at the court, as if trying to remember the moment. “It could seem like a fluke, but I changed the course of the ball for that one hit.”

Yachi stares at her notebook thoughtfully. Ennoshita also looks lost in thought.

“I’ll talk to him,” Yachi suddenly says, making a note of it.

Kageyama raises his eyebrows at her resolve. He didn’t think she, of all people, would try to beat some sense into Tsukishima. Her confidence has grown tremendously, and it shows in moments like these.

“Just keep working on this same regime. He’ll come around,” Ennoshita reassures Kageyama, and then moves to put away the net and poles.

Kageyama nods and walks towards the gym entrance, pulling out his phone. He quickly types a text to Suga, hoping they can meet up soon.

He doesn’t understand why Tsukishima is so… antagonistic with him. Granted, they have never gotten along, but he thinks Tsukishima is talented, and he knows Tsukishima has started seeing his own capabilities, too, so Kageyama can’t understand why he doesn’t want to become better. A small voice in his head utters what he fears the most, ‘ _ perhaps it’s personal’ _ —Kageyama stomps on the thought as quickly as he can, but a seed of anxiety has already been planted in his stomach.

“Want to go get some buns?” Hinata asks Kageyama, pulling him out of his dazed state, “We’re going to Coach’s shop!”

“No, it’s fine.” He squeezes Hinata’s shoulder. “I’m not hungry.”

The whole team stares dumbfounded as he walks away, but Hinata’s stomach breaks the tension by rumbling loudly.

“Let’s go get some meat buns, Shoyo!” Nishonoya declares, pulling him and Tanaka towards the school entrance, the rest of the team in tow.

Kageyama watches tapes of the team’s previous National matches and his eyes stay glued on Tsukishima—he’s a well-rounded player with excellent sense. If only there was more confidence and drive in him, he’d be another great possibility for the ace position. Kageyama doesn’t understand completely where the antagonism is coming from, especially since he’s hit Kageyama’s serves before, just not in the same circumstances.

A small part of him savors the sweet victory of having forced Tsukishima to hit his serve earlier, but he knows damn well that it will only mean that Tsukishima will be more careful not to hit it next time. An inexplicable excitement charges him, he can’t help but feel a thrill at the challenge offered—he’ll make Tsukishima hit it a second time.

A thousand times, even.  

**

Tsukishima is standing alone in the school yard after practice, crumpled note in hand. Three girls emerge from one of the hallway doors and slowly approach him—he’s got a terrible feeling about this, but can’t walk away from them as they already saw him. When few inches separate them, two of the girls lag behind and the one in the middle steps forward, facing Tsukishima. He unconsciously crosses his arm over his chest.

“Tsukishima-kun,” she starts, but her voice cracks and she hesitates. One of the girls behind her rushes to aid, whispering what he thinks are encouraging words.

“Tsukishima-kun, I’ve admired you for a long time--” she starts again and he frowns, regretting having come, Yamaguchi’s insistence be damned.

“Sorry,” he says, forcefully, cutting her words. “I already have someone I like; I can’t return your feelings.” It’s a lie, but it’s what’s worked for him so far.

He walks away swiftly and listens to the girl sobbing behind him, and one of the girls yells insults at him. The other girl apparently tries to calm the two of them down, saying it can’t be helped when he has someone he likes already.

He’s so tired of this scene; these girls don’t even know him and just want him to happily accept one of them just because they’re brave enough to confess. He knows well that courage alone doesn’t really mean anything. Outside the school he notices his fist is still curled around the crumpled note that said to come to the school yard after school. He sighs and throws it away before fitting his headphones around his ears and pressing play on his mp3 player.

**

Kageyama meets Sugawara in a café on the weekend. The place is crowded and bustling with the sound of people, which grates on Kageyama’s nerves a little, but Sugawara looks right in his element for some reason. When the waitress comes, Sugawara quietly recommends something he doesn’t understand, but still orders. It tastes like warm, slightly bitter milk chocolate, which isn’t so bad.

“It’s fine if you want to meet and catch up, but…did something happen?” Sugawara asks after they’re halfway into their drinks and Kageyama has asked about Sawamura twice.

“What? No, of course not! I’m just catching up.” Kageyama’s voice goes an octave higher, and Sugawara smiles and raises an eyebrow at him.

“Is it Hinata? You know you can tell me.”

“It’s not Hinata,” Kageyama murmurs, but doesn’t say anything else.

“So there  _ is _ something going on with someone,” Sugawara interjects thoughtfully, “just not Hinata.”

“It’s Tsukishima,” Kageyama grunts, hunching over his no longer steaming cup of mochaccino. “The captain and I considered the idea to make him a wing spiker, and he’s got the talent, it’s just—”

“Just?”

“He refuses to hit my toss, and he’s doing it on purpose.” Kageyama lets out a long, tired sigh. “I get that he hates me, but we’re still teammates and I want to win,”

“Do you hate him?” Sugawara looks at him intently, as if scanning his every move. Kageyama frowns, thinking.

“No, I don’t think I hate him?” he says after a while. “I just wish he wasn’t such a damn jerk all the time.”

“Well, maybe you should tell him that, just… leave out the ‘jerk’ part,” Sugawara smiles and pats his shoulder lightly. “I think if you actually talk, you might even become friends. You are more similar than you think.”

“I don’t think we need to go so far,” Kageyama shudders with distaste at the idea. “But I’ll try to talk to him. I just want to convince him to hit my toss for the team’s sake.”

Their conversation soon changes to a different focus, though the topic is still volleyball. Sugawara’s suggestion is something Kageyama wouldn’t have considered, but exactly because of that he’s now glad that he decided to ask him. They part half an hour later and Kageyama is determined to speak to Tsukishima as soon as he can.

When he enters the gym the following Monday, he thinks perhaps that’s not the best idea. Initially, he’s a little confused at the wall of girls standing in front of the gym door, all quietly curious as they peer inside. He hears murmurs of Tsukishima’s name and he peers inside as well before it dawns on him why the girls are behaving like this.

Yachi and Tsukishima are seated on the farthest end of the bench and she’s speaking quietly, but Tsukishima’s arms are crossed over his chest, that can’t be good. She stands up and utters one last quiet string of words and Tsukishima nods, but doesn’t stand up, not even when she walks away from him.

The girls around Kageyama disperse quickly when Yachi returns to her usual post near the gym entrance. Kageyama walks in and nods at Yachi who waves and greets him cheerfully.

Kageyama stares at Tsukishima as he puts his things next to the bench, gauging the damage the conversation with Yachi could have done, and their eyes link for a brief beat—Tsukishima stares back with an unbearable intensity and Kageyama can’t help but look away. He immediately berates himself for his weakness. Tsukishima takes that exact moment to walk up to him.

“Let’s start,  _ partner _ .” His tone is flat and obviously mocking. Kageyama’s anger flares, but he knows this is exactly what Tsukishima wants, so he stays quiet and simply follows him to the nearest half of the court. The practice is as fruitless as ever and Kageyama considers talking to Tsukishima, but as soon as the coach says practice is over, Tsukishima practically flees the court and leaves before everyone else. Kageyama can’t think of a moment when he’s been more frustrated than this.

“Um, Kageyama.” Yachi’s call pulls him out of his stupor. “I talked to Tsukishima and… he said he’s trying his hardest. Are you sure he’s purposely not hitting the ball?”

Kageyama is about to reply, but the atmosphere distracts him—Yachi has an open notebook and a pen in hand, and she looks ready to take notes on his answer or something. This doesn’t sit well with him.

“Maybe…” he starts, racking his mind for some excuse. “Maybe the girls that come all the time now are distracting him. I’ll talk to him.”

“You’ll talk to him?” she asks, and the tone of disbelief is too loud in Kageyama’s ears. He can’t help but frown and she notices, apparently, because she clears her throat and snaps the notebook close.

“Alright, I hope it works out.” She smiles and nods, then walks away to make sure everything is in order before locking the gym.

Kageyama walks out and finds Hinata waiting for him.

“Would it be weird if I tried to talk to Tsukishima about something?” it’s the first thing that leaves his mouth. Hinata’s eyebrows shoot up.

“I’d like to see that happen!” He exclaims, morbid curiosity written all over his face, and Kageyama decides there and then that his conversation with Tsukishima will have to be secret.

He plans to stick a note on Tsukishima’s shoe locker or something, that’d probably catch less attention. When he gets home, he writes the vaguest note he can think of and doesn’t sign it. He figures Tsukishima won’t show up if he knows Kageyama is the one who asked him to come somewhere.

**

“Hey, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi walks into the school and stands next to Tsukishima before his shoe locker. Tsukishima doesn’t reply, just silently frowns at a small note he’s holding.

“Is something the matter?” Yamaguchi asks when Tsukishima doesn’t move for another minute. The question pulls Tsukishima out of his stupor.

“What? No, nothing.” He crumples the note in his hand, but hesitates before dumping it in the nearest waste bin.

“What’s that?” Yamaguchi extends his hand and Tsukishima stares at it for a beat before depositing the crumpled note on his open palm. Yamaguchi flattens the note and reads it.

_ Please come behind the gym today before volleyball practice. Don’t be late. _

“Wow. Again? Are you going?” 

“No, I’m not. Let’s go to class, the bell is about to ring.” Tsukishima walks away in long strides towards the classroom and Yamaguchi drops the paper in the waste bin before following Tsukishima with quick steps.

“I know last time you went you hated it, but not going is perhaps rude to the girls?” Yamaguchi muses.

“I don’t care,” Tsukishima mutters. “Last time the girl started crying, and her friend got angry with me. Why am I the bad guy? I didn’t ask for their affection.” 

Yamaguchi raises his eyebrows, but doesn’t add anything to the conversation, simply nods as they walk into their classroom.

The rest of the morning is uneventful and Kageyama sits behind the gym patiently waiting before volleyball practice, but Tsukishima never shows up. Kageyama, for the first time since ever, arrives late to volleyball practice.

When he walks into the gym, Hinata practically runs to him. Yachi is trailing behind him, her face filled with worry and anxiety.

“Kageyama, are you sick?!” Hinata yells and Kageyama shushes him. 

“I had something to do, just didn’t look at the time,” he says, trying to calm them. Tsukishima hums loudly from where he’s sitting on the bench.

“Big surprise,” he murmurs, tone bored. “Can we start practice? I’m tired of waiting for your  _ royal  _ presence.”

Kageyama’s anger spikes and he glowers, baring his teeth at Tsukishima. He walks to him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

“Stop that,” he snarls. “It’s your damn fault I was late anyway.”

“Hey, calm down,” Ennoshita intervenes, standing between both of them and forcing them to separate physically. “I won’t tolerate fighting. Take five outside the gym, and if you can’t calm down by then, you can’t enter the court. Am I clear?”

Tsukishima and Kageyama glare at each other, but both of them nod and walk outside the gym slowly. It’s hot and sunny outside, and only the narrow corridor that connects the gym grounds to the rest of the school provides shade. They stand in the corridor together, but as far away from each other as possible. Kageyama can’t help but sulk—because of some idiot, he’s missing volleyball practice.

“This is entirely your fault,” he spits, and Tsukishima rolls his eyes, but ignores him and doesn’t reply.

“I just want to make the team better, and you are just fucking with me,” Kageyama continues, and Tsukishima tsks.

“Shut up,” He grinds between his teeth. “Stop blaming me for your own mistakes. How is it my fault you were late? How is it my fault you’re a controlling dumbass who wants to force others to follow his every order? I’m tired of you.”

“I was late because I was waiting for you behind the gym,” Kageyama yells, unable to contain himself. “And you never showed up even though I asked you to not be late, but you are such a jerk you can’t even--”

“What?” Tsukishima’s tone and face are completely different from his earlier anger, his eyebrows are drawn together in evident confusion. The change disconcerts Kageyama and his anger slowly starts to dissipate as well.

“I wrote you a note, asking you to come talk to me,” Kageyama explains, and suddenly it strikes him that there’s a chance Tsukishima didn’t read it. He immediately feels terribly silly. “You read it, didn’t you?”

Tsukishima looks thoughtful for a few seconds, but he facepalms after connecting his ideas.

“So you wrote the note from this morning.” He confirms. “I thought someone else wrote it, but anyway, you didn’t sign it, so it’s not my fault for not knowing.”

Kageyama frowns, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Would you have come if I had signed it?” He asks defensively. Tsukishima considers the idea, and then snorts a little.

“Actually, no…”

The conversation threatens to die out, but Tsukishima sighs heavily.

“We’re here now,” he remarks. Kageyama stares at him in confusion.

“So…?”

Tsukishima can’t believe how thick some people can be. He pinches the bridge of his nose with his fingers and sighs insufferably.

“So, let’s hear what you wanted to tell me earlier.”

Kageyama wasn’t expecting this development and falters, unprepared.

“No, well, um...” Kageyama ventures a look at Tsukishima, who’s glaring at him in annoyance. He takes a deep breath to calm the bubbling panic that’s forming in his stomach.

“What I wanted to tell you is,” he starts again. “I don’t know why you’re not hitting my toss now, when you’ve done it before.” Kageyama realizes that Tsukishima is still sort of glaring at him and has to look away, or he won’t be able to finish what he wants to say. “Anyway, you’re capable of hitting it, so… hit it. It will make this training less frustrating for the both of us.”

Tsukishima snorts, his nostrils flaring. There isn’t a hint of amusement in the action, and Kageyama’s worry resurfaces.

“There you go again,  _ King _ , just issuing your royal command.” Tsukishima crosses his arms over his chest and walks up to him, glaring down at him before walking past him and towards the gym entrance. Kageyama trots to stop him.

“Okay, wait,” he almost grabs Tsukishima by the shirt like he often does with Hinata, but quickly realizes it would make the situation worse. Tsukishima turns around to listen, but doesn’t relax his stand.

“You’re right.” Kageyama sighs, raising his hands in defeat. He doesn’t like admitting this, but he wants to make this work for the both of them, and if he has to compromise, he’s willing to do it. “Tell me then what kind of toss do you want. Would that make it better? I just want the training to be a success for the wellbeing of the team.”

Tsukishima stares at him, assessing his seriousness. He nods curtly and turns to enter the gym.

“I’d like a higher toss. Further from the net. And stop sending it to my hand, it creeps me out.”

Tsukishima enters the gym, leaving Kageyama outside. Kageyama can’t help but let out a sigh of relief. He feels tired, but accomplished. Perhaps this isn’t going to be the solution to all their problems, but he can’t help but think it’s at least an improvement. He follows Tsukishima shortly, and realizes he’s already waiting in the court with another team member.

“Here goes nothing,” he mutters to himself as he prepares to set to Tsukishima. The other member sends the ball to Kageyama, who cleanly tosses it to Tsukishima a little higher than he had tossed before. The ball collides with Tsukishima’s hand and is sent flying to the other end side of the court with the force of a cannonball. The whole team cheers when the ball hits the floor, and Kageyama pumps his fist before rushing towards Tsukishima.

"I won’t high five you every time,” Tsukishima deadpans, but there’s a glint in his eyes, like he’s proud of himself. 

** 

Kageyama and Tsukishima are sitting by the gym door after school, waiting for Yachi to open it. Tsukishima is propped against the gym wall, eyes closed while he listens to music. Kageyama can’t help but observe him carefully, wondering what he could be thinking about. It’s been three days since Tsukishima hit his first quick attack, and so far he’s hit about 97% of Kageyama’s tosses. In only three days they have made a lot of progress. The progress came with setbacks, like everything, but Kageyama was sure the worst part was over.

Kageyama had managed to convince Tsukishima to start practice earlier, but couldn’t make him agree on staying around after club activities for extra practice. At the beginning it was tough—Kageyama always thought Tsukishima was kind of annoying, but having to spend time around him on purpose was tiring, too. He often poked fun at Kageyama’s trademark sullen expression, called him what he hated the most just to spite him, and then whenever Kageyama lashed out, he got extremely defensive.

The good side was that he had been complying with the training properly and had only rebelled vocally against Kageyama from time to time, but his vocal rebellion faded eventually after Kageyama started ignoring him. Tsukishima had become less and less prickly, and in just three days, they could even achieve a semblance of conversation.

Kageyama snaps out of his reflecting time to look at his watch and notices it’s still fifteen minutes until Yachi comes. He decides that this is enough time to work on his English homework and pulls out his assignment sheet, pencil and notebook before he tries to concentrate on the rows of unknown characters that form the words and sentences. He stares at the page for a long time, trying to make sense of it. Eventually he starts writing whatever he sort of remembers, and his concentration is shattered suddenly by a snort that breaks the silence. He immediately realizes Tsukishima is now sitting next to him, looking at the page, too, and he’s got this terrible grin on his face, like he thinks Kageyama is the biggest idiot to exist in the world.

“This is pathetic,” Tsukishima remarks, and Kageyama frowns and rolls his eyes, but decides to ignore him. He still pulls out an English dictionary from his backpack to check his answers when he finishes, though.

“You can’t fix this with a dictionary,” Tsukishima comments, though his words aren’t as malicious as they would have been a few days ago. Kageyama glares at the sheet of paper before breathing deeply.

"How can I fix it, then,” he demands, grumbling. Tsukishima laughs dryly.

“That’s not a very nice way to ask for a favor.” He grabs his headphones, in an attempt to put them on again.

"Wait! Ok, can you tell me how to fix it?” Kageyama says again, softer. He’s still glaring, though, and Tsukishima gives him a disinterested look, as if waiting for something. Kageyama rolls his eyes.

“Please,” he murmurs, and the corner of Tsukishima’s mouth quirks up a little, but the expression turns into a sneer instead of a smile.

“Very well,” Tsukishima says, taking the paper from Kageyama’s hands before giving him a teasing look. “I couldn’t leave your royal highness hanging.”

Tsukishima starts explaining right away what’s wrong and Kageyama lets the insult pass. Yachi arrives soon after that, which means Kageyama has to put his homework away and can’t finish it.

“Can you help me finish it tomorrow? I still don’t understand everything,” Kageyama begrudgingly requests, and to his surprise Tsukishima gives him a pitying look before sighing and nodding, like he’s giving Kageyama divine help.

They follow Yachi into and immediately start warming up. Soon enough a few girls stray towards the gym entrance, quietly chatting as they observe practice. They cheer Tsukishima again, clapping, shouting and calling his name whenever he hits the ball. This seems to make his concentration waver as he begins to miss more often than not. Tsukishima lets out a frustrated sigh and asks for a water break. Kageyama agrees and waits until Tsukishima is seated at the bench to stalk towards the entrance. He stands in front of the girls and frowns at them.

“I understand you want to cheer for Tsukishima, but you’re distracting him. Either be quiet or leave,” he growls. The girls give him dirty looks, but one of them apologizes and starts walking away. Another girl stops her.

“It’s fine, we just have to be quiet,” she tells the first girl softly, then looks sharply at Kageyama. “Right?”

Kageyama clenches his jaw unconsciously.

“Right,” he bites off before he returns to the court. He signals to Tsukishima and they continue the training. During the rest of the afternoon, he feels his whole body prickle with the intense stares the girls are giving him, but he couldn’t care less about what some girls think of him.

The following day he walks to Tsukishima’s classroom during lunchtime, with the intention of finishing his English homework. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi aren’t there, so Kageyama asks his classmates and finally finds them on the school roof.

“Help me out,” Kageyama mutters, sitting next to Tsukishima and nodding to Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi gives him a surprised look, but only returns his greeting. Tsukishima raises an eyebrow and stares at him, unimpressed.

“Excuse you, I’m having lunch,” he simply explains as he keeps digging rice out of his bento with his chopsticks. Kageyama lets out a grunt, but doesn’t leave; he pulls out a melon bread and a milk box out of his bag and starts eating as well.

“Is that your lunch, Kageyama?” Yamaguchi asks, probably trying to be polite. Kageyama nods as he sips milk out of the box.

“Won’t you get hungry later?” Yamaguchi continues, staring at him in awe. Kageyama shakes his head as he munches on the bread.

Tsukishima puts his bento box away and plucks the worksheet from under Kageyama’s knee and stares at it distastefully.

“This is all wrinkled and dirty, if I were the teacher, I wouldn’t accept this,” he comments. Yamaguchi snickers, but clears his throat to disguise the sound. Kageyama simply shrugs.

“Just tell me how to solve it, ok?” He pulls out a pencil from his bag and gets ready to solve the exercises. Tsukishima lets out a long sigh, as if Kageyama is really trying his patience, but resolves to teach him in the end. Yamaguchi observes them until the bell sounds. They all pick their stuff and Kageyama stands up, homework in hand.

“Thanks,” he says and then turns to leave without waiting for an answer. Tsukishima nods and follows him with his eyes.

“Let’s go Yamaguchi, or we’ll be late to class,” he mumbles and starts walking. Yamaguchi follows him, but can’t get his mind off the scene that he just witnessed.

** 

Yachi opens the door to the gym after class, about half an hour before the beginning of club activities, and Tsukishima and Kageyama are already in one of the courts warming up.

“Please throw me some balls, Yachi-san,” Kageyama requests and nods at Tsukishima to signal the start of the training. Tsukishima walks to his position without so much a nod back. Yachi stares at them, but then remembers she’s supposed to be sending the ball to Kageyama. She sends the first ball, Kageyama sets the toss and Tsukishima hits it beautifully, spiking it with so much force it leaves a round mark on the polished floor.

“Nice kill,” Kageyama comments and Tsukishima hums in reply before Kageyama beckons Yachi for a second ball and they repeat the motion.

“This height for the toss is just right,” Tsukishima speaks this time and Kageyama nods, seemingly making a mental note about it.

In just a week their teamwork has improved tremendously, and even though they weren’t acting all cheerful around each other, the atmosphere wasn’t charged or tense—Yachi can even say they were being civil towards one another.

The rest of the team strolls into the gym, ready to start practice, too, but they end up observing Tsukishima and Kageyama practicing.

“I want to spike it, too,” Hinata sulks, staring at Tsukishima with envy. “I rarely practice with Kageyama these days!”

“Am I not good enough for you, Shouyou?” Nishinoya exclaims, mock-hurt. Hinata hurries to shower Nishinoya in compliments and the rest of the team erupts in animated chuckles and half-laughs. Tsukishima huffs loudly.

“You’re being too loud,” he says, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Kageyama agrees with him.

“Yeah, go over to the other court, practice has started already.” Kageyama signals Yachi to send another ball, and Narita and Kinoshita have to hold Tanaka back, who’s staring at the both of them with his most murderous face.

“Tanaka, leave them. At least they’re working hard,” Ennoshita says mildly, patting him on the shoulder. “I think we can at least let them be cheeky for today, if they’re getting along so well.”

Tanaka huffs, but calms down and he and the rest of the team move onto their assigned practice regimes. A first year replaces Yachi on the ball-sending duty at Ennoshita’s command. He motions to Yachi to follow him to the bench.

“How long have they been here?” Ennoshita asks her when they sit down.

“They were warming up when I arrived. They waited for me outside the gym the last few days, guess today they couldn’t even wait.” She stares at them and smiles a little. “Can you believe it? The training is working, Tsukishima keeps improving, just like Kageyama said.”

“Now they even agree with each other, that’s just a little too scary,” Ennoshita muses and Yachi laughs.

“I frankly feel relieved that they can work together like this, I-I keep thinking about how it will be when the seniors graduate and…” she trails off and Ennoshita hums knowingly.

“You’re right. With teamwork like this, the team can keep going.” He turns his attention to Kageyama and Tsukishima. “We need to test this weapon in a real match, though.”

After practice, the whole team goes to the convenience store to get meat buns. Kageyama and Tsukishima lag behind the rest, quietly commenting on the small things they could improve during practice. The conversation eventually dies out as they begin to eat, but they still walk in companionable silence. Tsukishima’s headphones hang from his neck, practically forgotten. Yamaguchi, who is observing them from afar, walks up to Hinata and nudges him.

“I never thought I’d see them talking like this,” Yamaguchi remarks, but shuts his mouth when he watches Hinata frown and puff his cheeks at his words, his lower lips curling in a sort of upset pout.  _ Oops _ , Yamaguchi thinks before lagging behind, too, and navigating closer to Tsukishima.  

Kageyama and he are talking again, and without meaning to, Yamaguchi manages to listen to pieces of the conversation. They seem to be talking about a movie based on books.

“I have those books,” Tsukishima murmurs. “I didn’t think you could read, wow.” His sarcastic remark doesn’t have the same force at other times, it almost seem to amuse Kageyama more than insult him.

“Yeah, ha ha. Very funny,” Kageyama replies dryly, his tone monotone. He adds, more cheerfully, “I don’t read much, but I like these books. The third one, where they travel in the ship, that’s my favorite.”

“The books have names, Kageyama,” Tsukishima sighs. “That’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”

“Sure, whatever. The movie is airing tonight on TV, I’m watching it after dinner.”

"So you  _ do _ do other things besides volleyball," he replies thoughtfully. "That's appalling."

Yamaguchi is too shocked at this point. Tsukishima called Kageyama by his name, and even seemed to be having some friendly conversation with him about their interests outside of volleyball. When everyone says goodbye and is ready to head home, Yamaguchi knocks shoulders with Tsukishima.

“I didn’t know you and Kageyama were friends.”

Tsukishima side-eyes him and raises his eyebrows questioningly.

“We aren’t,” he says, like it’s completely obvious. Yamaguchi can’t help but laugh lightly, which apparently irritates Tsukishima because he huffs and grabs his headphones, ready to put them on.

“Wait! I didn’t mean to laugh,” Yamaguchi apologizes good-naturedly and Tsukishima stops walking and doesn’t put on his headphones, but still looks a little angry.

“You were chatting with him; you weren’t wearing your headphones. You helped him with homework the other day; he even had lunch with us. I think that’s quite friendly for you,” Yamaguchi explains, shrugging. “You actually called him by his last name, not King, for once.”  

“That doesn’t mean—I’m not—” Tsukishima stammers, but gives up trying to explain. His expressions go from angry to thoughtful and he sighs heavily. “I didn’t notice I was doing that.”

“Would it hurt to consider him a friend?” Yamaguchi asks carefully, noticing how Tsukishima flinches at the question.

“Never mind I asked,” Yamaguchi adds almost immediately and Tsukishima nods, putting on his headphones this time. The rest of the walk home is accompanied only by the muted sounds coming from Tsukishima’s headphones.   

**

“Great job, everyone!” Ennoshita claps at the end of practice and makes a motion with his hand to assemble the team in front of him and Coach Ukai.

“You’re improving quickly, newbies,” Ukai comments towards the new years, who excitedly accept the compliment. “This doesn’t mean the seniors can slack off! We’re having a practice match in a week, so please continue getting stronger.”   

There’s a wave of murmurs from the team regarding the upcoming practice match. Tsukishima and Kageyama exchange looks before Ennoshita shushes everyone.

“For that match, we’re going to use the Kageyama-Tsukishima combination. From tomorrow until the day of the match, I want Tanaka, Hinata and Yamaguchi practicing blocking against you two.”

“Yes!” Tsukishima and Kageyama say in unison.

“I want to practice my quick, too, coach!” Hinata complains, but Tanaka decks him in the back of the head.

“Be grateful you’re still a starter, idiot!” He whispers, and Hinata’s displeased frown deepens, but he bows and apologizes to Ukai.

“Now, let’s clean and close up!” Ennoshita orders and all the club members start tidying up. When they’re about the leave, a group of girls is waiting near the school gate. One of them approaches the team members nervously.

“K-Kageyama?” She calls, and Kageyama scowls, making her flinch. It’s one of the girls from the group that always hang around the gym.

“Hinata, wait for me,” he says as he follows the girl to where the rest are.

“Do you think he’s going to get confessed to?” Yamaguchi wonders. The rest of the team starts a tirade about whether it’s likely or not. Tsukishima frowns.

“It has nothing to do with us. Let’s go, Yamaguchi.” He starts walking, leaving the rest of the team behind. Yamaguchi waves goodbye and rushes to catch up to him. The others from the team slowly walk towards the gate afterwards.

“Are you going to wait, Shouyou?” Nishinoya asks and Hinata nods, settling down on a nearby bench. “See you tomorrow!” he exclaims, waving to everyone. When they’re out of sight, Hinata sprints to follow Kageyama.

The group of girls and Kageyama has moved to the school yard, and Hinata can clearly see the girls surrounding him, but can barely hear what’s being said. It doesn’t seem something pleasant, if the way Kageyama is scowling is any indication, but Hinata can’t know if a love confession would be unwelcomed. Kageyama was always a bit weird like that, in his opinion.

The conversation finishes on what appears to be a sour note—a few of the girls give Kageyama shocked looks and the rest of them simply glare at him. He walks quickly towards the school gate, not giving Hinata the chance to back away.

“Let’s go, Hinata,” he mutters as he passes by the bushes where Hinata is hiding, and Hinata jumps up, following him.

“What happened?” Hinata asks, half worried, half excited. Kageyama walks faster and ignores him; Hinata practically has to trot to keep up.

Kageyama lowers his pace when they’re past the school gate, he breathes out heavily, and Hinata takes this moment to ask him again.

“What happened with those girls, did you get a confession or something?” Hinata dashes and stands in front of Kageyama, trying to make him stop. Kageyama pushes him aside, annoyed. Hinata pulls him by his jersey.

“Don’t ignore me, dumbass! I waited for you, don’t be a dick,” he says, headbutting him in the back. This makes Kageyama stop, at least.

“You’re right, thanks for waiting.” Kageyama sighs and stares at the sky. Hinata gives him a worried look.

“Are you okay? No need to get like this because of a girl.” Hinata pats him on the back, in an attempt to comfort him. “You don’t have to say yes to a girl you don’t like--”

“It’s not like that, idiot.” Kageyama swats his hand away and Hinata raises his eyebrows questioningly.

“They think that…” Kageyama starts talking, but his voice gets quieter with each word, the last part of the sentence becoming almost a whisper that Hinata can’t understand.

“What…what?” Hinata squints. Kageyama breathes in deeply, as if he’s steeling himself from his own words.

“They think I’m dating Tsukishima or something,” he mumbles and Hinata can’t hold back his laughter. Kageyama narrows his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. “It’s not funny, dumbass.”

“It’s hilarious,” Hinata wheezes, still laughing. “You and Tsukishima aren’t even friends and--”

“What do you mean we aren’t friends?” Kageyama’s serious tone sobers Hinata. He stares at Kageyama thoughtfully.

“So you are friends, huh? Good for you,” Hinata mumbles petulantly as he shoves his hands in his jersey pockets. Kageyama raises an eyebrow at him.

“Are you jealous?” Kageyama asks incredulously. “You’re also my friend. You’ve been my friend longer.”

“But you never toss for me anymore, dumbass Kageyama!” Hinata yells. Kageyama smiles at that.

“We can play some volleyball now if you want. Just let me get a ball in my house.”

Hinata beams at Kageyama, but then remembers the conversation.

“Tell me if those girls bully you, Kageyama. I’ll protect you!”

Kageyama snorts at that.

“That’s very reassuring!” He leans down to Hinata’s eye level and pats him on the head.

“Hey! Don’t be such a jerk!” Hinata tries to hit him, but Kageyama manages to get away cackling. 

Neither of them gets home until way past dinner time.

Kageyama doesn’t think much about the implications of the conversation those girls subjected him to until he’s almost passed out in his bed. He doesn’t know why the girls considered him to be Tsukishima’s boyfriend, if anyone would be, it should be Yamaguchi, right? He remembers clearly the girls said Tsukishima has someone he likes, but it’s impossible that it would be him.

His train of thought charges into the fact that Tsukishima  _ likes  _ someone, and that notion gives Kageyama a very strong impression—Tsukishima, whose personality leaves a lot to be desired, has those kind of feelings inside him. He wonders briefly what it would be like to be someone’s crush, or if he himself liked anyone, but he can’t reach a conclusion. If it’s about liking people, he likes his friends, but he can’t think of a time where he’s had a crush on someone.

**

“What are you listening to?” Kageyama speaks in a high volume, trying to get past the sound of whatever is blasting through Tsukishima’s headphones.

“What?” Tsukishima asks belatedly, pulling the right earphone pad away from his ear after noticing Kageyama was speaking to him.

“I said, ‘what are you listening to’,” Kageyama repeats, feeling oddly nervous.

They’re sitting together on the steps in front of the gym door, waiting for Yachi to open it. Ennoshita apparently didn’t like that they had entered the gym and started practicing without waiting for the rest of the team, and he gave them instructions to wait patiently for Yachi.

Tsukishima doesn’t reply to Kageyama’s question, just fixes him with a blank stare before pulling his headphones off and handing them over. Kageyama takes them carefully, awed, and glances at Tsukishima once more, wondering if he’s supposed to put them on or not. Tsukishima rolls his eyes and takes the headphones and pushes them against Kageyama’s ears.

A guitar riff and quick drum rolls invade his ears and a mellow voice sings words Kageyama can’t recognize, so he assumes the music is from a foreign band. It’s not bad music, but Kageyama isn’t very knowledgeable about what would be considered good music. He returns the headphones after a short while.

“Do you understand the lyrics?”

The right corner of Tsukishima’s lips quirk up a little, “Sometimes. It helps me practice English.”

Kageyama looks away from Tsukishima’s mouth—something about the rare genuine expression makes Kageyama’s stomach overturn. Tsukishima sits straighter suddenly, and clears his throat, putting his headphones on once again. Kageyama can’t exactly explain it, but he thinks something in the atmosphere changes; like a switch flip. A heavy silence falls between them, a silence that is tense and awkward. He’s about to try and strike up a conversation with Tsukishima again when Hinata shows up.

“Hey, you’re early!” Hinata waves at Kageyama, but gives Tsukishima a dirty look. Kageyama gives him a miffed look. Tsukishima pointedly ignores him.

“But Kageyama, you’ll get bullied because of him--” Hinata starts, and Kageyama jumps up, panicking, and squishes Hinata’s mouth with his fingers to stop him from talking. Tsukishima gives them a disgusted look, but doesn’t give any indication that he heard what Hinata was saying.

“Idiot, shut your trap,” Kageyama hisses before letting Hinata go. Hinata resentfully glares at him, rubbing his mouth.

“What, you haven’t told him?” Hinata whispers accusingly, but Kageyama shushes him. Tsukishima slowly stands up and Kageyama freezes, wondering if he heard Hinata’s words. Tsukishima turns towards the hallway that connects the gym entrance and the school entrance and Kageyama’s eyes chase what Tsukishima is looking at. With relief, he sees Yachi approaching them quickly, gym key in hand.

“Sorry for the wait,” she gasps, rushing to open the door. Hinata is the first to enter, Kageyama following him closely. Tsukishima turns off his player and puts his headphones in his backpack before starting the usual warming up routine. Kageyama joins him silently a second later. They run several laps around the gym and then stretch without breaking the silence. When they’re about to enter the court, Kageyama clears his throat.

“Don’t pay attention to Hinata, ok?”

Tsukishima stares at him. “Sure.”

“Also, we’re starting with blockers today, but don’t be nervous--”

“I’ve played against blockers before, no need to worry about me,” Tsukishima says curtly, and Kageyama takes a step back, surprised at the tone. He doesn’t add anything else, simply nods and returns to his position in the court.

Hinata stands on the other side of the net, giving Tsukishima unpleasant looks. Yamaguchi chuckles nervously, but Tanaka elbows both him and Hinata in an attempt to help them pull themselves together. Kageyama sets and Tsukishima hits the ball, but it’s blocked by Hinata, who flashes an irksome grin at Tsukishima.

“Serves you right,” he says, and Tsukishima rolls his eyes and concentrates on getting his second attack in. When it hits the other side of the court, Tsukishima hisses a ‘yes’ before returning Hinata an equally obnoxious smile that makes Hinata growl in frustration.

"Stupid Tsukishima!! I want to spike it, too,” he rants, stomping his feet. Tanaka flicks him on the forehead.

“Focus, Hinata!” he orders, and Hinata settles down, but keeps grumbling through the whole practice.

Kageyama focuses his eyes on Tsukishima, following his every move. He notices the exact moment when Tsukishima loses against frustration and practically gives up when the wall in front of him becomes too tough for him to handle.

“Not so tough now that you’re spiking, aren’t you?” Hinata shouts, laughing. Tsukishima scoffs and practically rips his sports glasses off his face.

"Whatever,” he hisses, walking off the court towards the gym changing room. Kageyama glares at Hinata, who sticks his tongue out at him. Tanaka bops Hinata on the head.

“You went too far, idiot.”

Kageyama follows Tsukishima and finds him sitting on the changing room with a towel on his head.

"Tsukishima--” he starts, still unsure about what to tell him to comfort him. Turns out he doesn’t have to say anything.

“Leave me alone,” Tsukishima mutters. “I’ll be fine in a little while, just go back to the court.”

Kageyama hovers over him, wondering briefly it he’s really going to be okay. He finally decides to respect Tsukishima’s wishes, and walks back to the bench and observes Yamaguchi doing blocking practice with the others on the court. He can’t help but worry a bit. They have a practice match coming—if Tsukishima can’t handle the pressure from their own teammates, how he is going to take the pressure coming from a different team is something Kageyama can’t figure out.  

The minutes tick by and practice finishes, and Tsukishima doesn’t come out of the changing room until after all the team members, except Kageyama, Yachi and Ennoshita, are gone.

“I want to stop this training for now,” Tsukishima says, when he’s in front of all three of them. Kageyama clenches his fists at his side, trying hard to hold back his anger.

“No. Why? You’ve improved so much, why are you giving up now--” Kageyama starts, but he’s cut off by Ennoshita’s gentle voice.

“We understand. No problem,” He places his hand on Kageyama’s shoulder. “Right, Kageyama?”

Kageyama glares at him, but Ennoshita’s sympathetic smile doesn’t waver. Yachi withers visibly when he looks at her, so he simply turns around and storms out of the gym, not bothering to give Tsukishima one last glance.

“We’ll figure out what to do tomorrow. I’ll talk to Coach Ukai,” Ennoshita says and both Yachi and Tsukishima nod and prepare to leave. All three of them walk together on the way home.

“See you tomorrow, Tsukihima!” Yachi beams when they part ways, and he nods as a way of reply. He’s glad that he’s not walking with Yamaguchi or Kageyama, as they would have definitely asked what was wrong and for now he wants to sort out his feelings by himself.

Coach Ukai is at the bench the following day, giving orders when the team members arrive. Tsukishima didn’t arrive as early as he was used to now, but he just didn’t want to deal with Kageyama. When he walks into the gym, Kageyama is in one of the courts, setting for Hinata.

“Tsukishima!” the coach calls. “You’re on the bench today.”

Tsukishima nods—this is exactly what he wanted, but he can’t remember the last time he spent the whole practice benched, and it feels like a punishment. When he sits on the bench, Ukai approaches him.

“Pay close attention to Hinata. Maybe that can clue you in on how to fight against blockers.”

He observes Hinata’s movements for a while, trying to be mindful about how Hinata decides on the course of the spike, but eventually he gets bored and his eyes stray towards Kageyama. He’s much focused on practice, working as hard, if not harder, than when he practices with Tsukishima. Whenever Hinata gets past Tanaka or Yamaguchi, Kageyama grins and claps Hinata’s shoulder or they cheerfully high-five each other. A pang he can’t recognize twists his gut—he frankly wishes he was the one hitting the ball today, but he doesn’t think he’s jealous; it’s more like he can’t help but think that after Kageyama’s insistence of him becoming a wing spiker, he still doesn’t really need him to be in court to win a set. As long as Hinata is around, Tsukishima can be replaced at any moment.

He focuses his attention on Tanaka and Yamaguchi this time around, studying their little habits. He’s impressed by Yamaguchi’s forwardness when blocking, and remembers Kageyama was the one who suggested Yamaguchi try it. He shakes his head, annoyed, trying to stop thinking about Kageyama. Hinata walks out of the court and approaches him. Kageyama starts setting for Ennoshita.

“Ah, spiking is always so refreshing,” he exclaims, as a way of greeting. Tsukishima rolls his eyes and looks away, ignoring him.

“So, are you getting ready to start hitting it again or something?” Hinata continues, walking quickly into Tsukishima’s field of vision. Tsukishima groans.

“Get lost,” he growls and Hinata glares at him.

“Don’t be a jerk,” Hinata hisses, pointing at him. “For your information, I don’t care if you hit it or not, but Kageyama is worried about you.”

“I didn’t ask him to worry,” Tsukishima mutters, adopting his usual defensiveness. “Besides, he didn’t look worried to me at all when he was setting to you just now.”

Hinata hmphs and sits next to him, ready to give him a piece of his mind.

“I get it, we’re not friends. But Kageyama considers you a friend, and Kageyama is  _ my _ friend, so I want him to be happy.”

Tsukishima rolls his eyes and stands up, as if he’s ready to leave.

“He wants you to be in court, he wants to toss to you for the practice match, so you better get your act together.” Hinata looked up to Tsukishima, locking eyes with him. “Or I’ll kick your ass.”

Tsukishima can’t help the laugh that bubbles up his throat, and Hinata gives him a scandalized look. Kageyama walks up to them at that exact moment.

“What’s so funny?” He asks, and he’s smiling a little, like he wants in on Tsukishima’s joke. Tsukishima’s laughter dies almost instantly.

“Nothing,” Tsukishima says, clearing his throat. Hinata jumps up and starts asking Kageyama whether he thinks he could kick Tsukishima’s ass or not. They walk away from the bench and Kageyama looks back at him, giving him a sympathetic smile. It revives the pang he felt a while ago. He decides it’s better if they talk things out.

When practice is over, Tsukishima walks over to Kageyama.

“Can we stay behind for a bit?”

Kageyama’s eyes light up and he nods, but Tsukishima clarifies it’s not for practice. They walk towards the club room and Tsukishima clears his throat.

“I don’t think I’m suited for spiking, Hinata is way better.”

Kageyama nods slowly, letting the words sink in.

“The match is tomorrow, let’s test your attack on the first half--”

“No, I don’t want to! I keep getting blocked. This is a bad idea.”

“All spikers have been blocked at some point or another, but it doesn’t mean they’re less of a good player because of that.”

Tsukishima lets out an irritated huff at Kageyama’s calm, reasonable rebuttals.

“I don’t see the point of going out there and prove how much of a failure I am. I’ll be replaced by Hinata, eventually, just like today and--”

“Stop.” Kageyama raises a hand in front of Tsukishima’s face, surprising him. “Don’t think yourself a failure for getting blocked. Even if you see yourself as someone talentless, to me you’re irreplaceable.”

Kageyama’s words hit Tsukishima like a bolt of lightning and he stands there, shocked.

“You—what?” he can’t help or hide the blush that creeps up from his neck to his forehead. “I can’t believe you, that’s so embarrassing.”

“What? It’s the truth,” Kageyama states, but after noticing the effect his words had on Tsukishima, he clears his throat. “I mean, you’re an irreplaceable asset to this team, and... well, don’t compare yourself to Hinata. You have different strengths.” 

“Right.” Tsukishima nods, wondering if he should say something else. Ennoshita walks into the club room at that instant.

“I need to close up, guys.” He observes them carefully and walks closer to them. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Sure, everything fine,” they say quickly, in unison. Ennoshita laughs.

“Ready for tomorrow, Tsukishima?” Tsukishima jolts at the question, but doesn’t see any ill intent on it.

“Yeah, I’ll hit it tomorrow, captain,” he assures, smiling. Kageyama smiles, too.

After Ennoshita closes the gym, they walk home together for a while, but Ennoshita parts ways at one of the intersections. Tsukishima and Kageyama walk together, in silence, until they reach Tsukishima’s intersection.

“I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” Kageyama expresses quietly. “We’ll definitely win.”

“Yes,” Tsukishima agrees with confidence then he raises his hand in farewell before walking away.

** 

There’s less than an hour left for the start of the match and the bleachers in the gym are already half full. Yachi looks up at the bleachers and spots Akiteru and Saeko, sitting together and chatting amicably. They’re not looking at her so she doesn’t wave, but she smiles as she remembers the time she spent on the bleachers with them. The visiting team starts warming up and she concentrates on them, assessing their power and technique.

The members of the team also observe the players warming up on court and quietly comment on the possible plays. Coach Ukai announces the starters—when Tsukishima’s name is mentioned, Hinata lets out a long, pained groan.

“You better make me proud, Tsukishima!” he yells. Tsukishima gives him a mocking grin.

“Or you’ll kick my ass, right?” he exclaims. “I’m trembling with fear!”

Kageyama chuckles, but covers it with a cough. Hinata positively glowers at them both.

The other team finishes their warming up and it’s Karasuno’s turn now. When they finish warming up, the teams line up in front of the net, they greet and the referee blows the whistle to signal the beginning of the match.

Tsukishima and Kageyama nod to each other right as the match begin, and they concentrate to make the first point count. The other team serves the ball and when they attack, Nishinoya stops it from hitting the floor and connects it to Kageyama, who sets the ball in a high point, not too close from the net. Tsukishima has already jumped and he hits the ball with the heel of his hand, hard. It collides with one of the blockers hands, changing course slightly, but still smacks against the floor loudly. The bleachers erupt with cheer, and a rush of adrenaline swells within Tsukishima’s body, making him feel lighter.

“Nice kill!” Kageyama exclaims, raising his arms for a high five. Tsukishima smacks his hands against him, smiling.

The second attack is frustrated by blockers and they lose a point, but Tsukishima breathes deeply and tries to take it in stride.

“Don’t mind!” Kageyama yells after the ball falls on their side of the court. When rotation changes, attacking patterns change, too, and Tsukishima is glad that there are other spikers, or he probably couldn’t bear it. When is his turn to attack again, he feels pride and relief every time his attack makes it in, and by the end of the first set, when they win it, he’s scored most of the points.

“Good job, Tsukishima!” exclaims coach Ukai when they approach the bench before switching courts. “Hinata will play on the next set, take a breather for now.”

Kageyama frowns and raises his hand, to complain, but Tsukishima stops him.

“It’s fine,” he tells Kageyama. “Thank you, coach.” He bows to Ukai before setting on the bench next to the first years.

He observes Hinata and Kageyama during the second set and how naturally it comes to them to cheer together when they score a point. He wonders if he and Kageyama look like this, too—like friends. The idea of being Kageyama’s friend doesn’t seem so ludicrous anymore, if he were to decide whether he hated or liked Kageyama, he would definitely say he likes him now. Kageyama gave him a courage he didn’t think he had in him, perhaps that was also something Kageyama gave Hinata and it was the reason why Hinata acted like he was invincible. Tsukishima had to admit, even if he was blocked, Kageyama’s toss gives him a sense a security that he didn’t know he needed in court.

Not that he would ever admit that out loud.

The match ends with the sound of the whistle at the end of the second set. Hinata and Tanaka quickly racked up one point after another, barely allowing the visiting team to score. They line up and greet by shaking hands and bowing. The audience applauds both teams for their hard work on the match and then leaves their seats, slowly trickling out of the gym.

“Good job, Tsukishima,” Hinata mutters, glaring at him. Tsukishima snorts.

“You’re so honest.” He walks towards his bag to grab his water when he notices two girls standing near the bench; they quickly walk towards him when they see he noticed them.

“Tsukishima, can we speak with you?” They throw nervous glances behind Tsukishima and he turns around, to see what they’re looking at. He catches Kageyama looking at them, but Kageyama tenses and looks away when Tsukishima catches him. Anxiety flutters in the pit of Tsukishima’s stomach, but he tries to ignore it.

“As long as it’s quick.”  

He follows the girls outside the gym to a secluded hallway. A minute passes by with neither of them saying anything, and the silence becomes unbearable. Tsukishima is about to ask what’s going on when one of them steps up and bows.

“Sorry that we’re so forceful all the time, but we really admire you!” He stares at her impassively, and then the other girl steps up. “We don’t want to have trouble with Kageyama, but we want to at least convey our feelings properly.”

Tsukishima frowns at Kageyama’s name, why would they bring him up?

“Kageyama? What does he have to do with this?”

The girls look at each other, panicking a little, but then they have a sort of quiet conversation before addressing Tsukishima again.

“Well, we know about you and Kageyama,” The girls bite their lips and look slightly embarrassed, which confuses Tsukishima even more. What is it that they know?

“That you are,” One of the girls say, pushing a few strands of hair behind her ear, “you know,  _ together _ .” Both girls sort of squeal excitedly and their faces are now flushed.

Tsukishima lets the implications of the statement wash over him and his jaw drops open,  _ what the hell? _ He notices his whole face is heated and he can’t decide if it’s out of indignation or something else. He really hopes it’s the former.

“Did he tell you that?” he asks, tone icy. The girls look at each other, and shake their heads, now apparently unsure of their conclusions.

“Well… he didn’t deny it, that’s why we thought…” one of them trails off, after trying to explain. Tsukishima notices that they don’t seem at all bothered by this theoretical relationship between him and Kageyama, which is in fact quite convenient for him. 

“It was just supposed to be a secret, it’s all,” he states, before the logical part of himself can stop him. The girls stare at him in shock and he can’t help but feel self-conscious—now he’ll have to explain to Kageyama that this happened, but first he’s got to ask Kageyama how come he didn’t know any of this.

“So it’s the truth, huh,” One of the girls says in amazement, the other holds her by the shoulders before speaking. “Tsukishima, we understand. We’ll keep your secret, and we’ll support you!”

Tsukishima nods and quickly makes an excuse to flee from them. When he gets back to the gym, most of the team had left, but Yamaguchi, Hinata and Kageyama are waiting for him. His body feels entirely too hot when he lays eyes on Kageyama.

“Can I speak with you?” He looks at Kageyama, but then glances at Yamaguchi and Hinata, who seem eager to know what happened. “Alone.”

Yamaguchi smiles apologetically and Hinata practically fumes.

“What the hell, that’s unfair!” Yamaguchi keeps smiling as he waves goodbye and drags an outraged Hinata away. Kageyama gives Yamaguchi a worried look before facing Tsukishima.

“Did something happen?”

Tsukishima nods, but can’t think of how to begin this conversation. Kageyama stands there, simply staring patiently, waiting for Tsukishima to speak.

“Let’s sit down,” Tsukishima says. “This might take a while.”

They sit on a bench near the school yard and Kageyama has a flashback of what happened with the girls, but doesn’t comment on anything.

Tsukishima doesn’t break the silence, either, he thinks of the different ways he can bring up the fact that he’s practically in a fake relationship with Kageyama, but he’s deeply troubled by his feelings—he’s nervous, what if Kageyama gets angry over this? This is a friendship he didn’t think he wanted to keep, and the realization really shocks him. He’s also upset that Kageyama never mentioned the conversation he had with the girls. He decides to ask about this first, explaining the rest would come easier later.

“A few days ago, some girls talked to you after school, right?” Tsukishima starts, and Kageyama reacts almost immediately.

“Did Hinata tell you? That idiot!” Kageyama stands from the bench, seething. Tsukishima’s anger multiplies when he finds out Hinata  _ knew _ , when he didn’t. The logical part of his brain blocks the wave of jealousy that threatens to crash over him.

“Hinata,” Tsukishima mutters, icily. “So he knew? No, he didn’t tell me. The girls did.”

Kageyama bites his lip and stares at Tsukishima apologetically. He slowly sits down again.

“I didn’t mean to hide it from you,” Kageyama says softly. “It just seemed so dumb.”

“But you told Hinata,” Tsukishima comments, tone controlled. Kageyama still easily detects how hurt he is.

“I’m sorry!” He stands again, this time facing Tsukishima. “I didn’t tell him on purpose, either. He was there and… I didn’t know all the details; just that you like someone, and the girls thought it was me.”

“Actually, they think you like me back.” Tsukishima looks away before continuing. He doesn’t think he has the courage to look at Kageyama in the eye as he says it. “They think we’re…together.”

Kageyama looks away, too, and stays silent.

Tsukishima ventures a look at him and he doesn’t seem angry, just embarrassed and maybe a little uncomfortable. Tsukishima’s uneasiness resurfaces. If Kageyama is uncomfortable, there might be a strain in their friendship. Not the same fighting as before, something worse—a distant, polite and impersonal partnership. He’s lost in thought and doesn’t notice Kageyama sitting next to him again.

“So, did you clear up the misunderstanding?” Kageyama asks quietly. Tsukishima jolts at the question both surprised that Kageyama said anything and anxious about how to answer it. He looks away feeling guilty.  

“I-I didn’t,” he stammers, feeling the back of his neck growing hot.

“You… didn’t?” Kageyama stares at him, tone confused. Tsukishima ducks his head.

“Frankly, it’s better like this,” Tsukishima explains, placing a hand over his mouth and cheeks in an attempt to hide the blush that creeps up his face. “If the girls think I’m with you, they won’t bother me.”

Kageyama raises his eyebrows in surprise.

“What! So now we’re together in their heads?!” When Tsukishima nods, he also covers his cheeks with his hands. Tsukishima notices the pink on top of Kageyama’s cheekbones and feel incredibly stupid when a part of his brain catalogues the image as ‘cute’.

“Does it bother you?” Tsukishima asks, seriously wondering what Kageyama thinks of all this. Kageyama stays silent for a while, thinking about his answer.

“No,” he finally says, looking at Tsukishima like he’s surprised with himself. “I don’t see you that way for now, but it doesn’t bother me if others think that.”

“For now?” Tsukishima can’t help but catch the implications. His throat feels dry suddenly. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I don’t have romantic feelings for you, but I care for you as a friend,” Kageyama explains, frowning. “It’s not impossible for friends to develop romantic feelings.”

“True,” Tsukishima says, thoughtfully. He realizes that, if he were to develop romantic feelings for anyone close to him, it would be for Kageyama and he’s actually surprised that this doesn’t bother him one bit. It actually excites him.

“So, we’re boyfriends now,” Tsukishima muses out loud, like he can’t believe it. “Fake ones, though.”

“Do you think we should tell the others? Hinata and Yamaguchi, I mean.” Kageyama asks, staring at Tsukishima.

Tsukishima purses his lips thoughtfully. Wouldn’t it be funny if their friends didn’t know it was a pretend relationship? Kageyama’s ‘for now’ echoes inside his head, at least it’s probably worth trying.

“Let’s tell them, yeah,” Tsukishima starts, and Kageyama nods. “But let’s not tell them it’s pretend.” Kageyama raises his eyebrows at that, but eventually nods, smiling.

“Wanna hold hands when we tell them?” He asks and Tsukishima laughs.

“That is a brilliant idea, Kageyama.” He extends his hands towards Kageyama. “Let’s practice now.”

Kageyama stares at his hand before tentatively grabbing it. He gives Tsukishima this really intense look and smiles softly and Tsukishima can’t believe it.

He just knows they won’t play pretend for too long.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are more than welcomed!!


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